CeaseFire 20th Anniversary Fundraiser (Seattle)

Saturday, March 29th, myself, Bob Anderson, and Jeff Stewart protested the Washington Ceasefire 20th Anniversary fundraiser party.

I'm sure we would have had a lot more people, but Ceasefire had to keep their own anniversary party secret from the public because they were afraid of us showing up. So, despite only having one days notice, we showed up anyway.

We met at Bob's downtown shop and walked over to the Westin Hotel where the party was. First we checked out the front entrance, then looked at the valet/parking garage entrance on the east side of the building, and decided on that. It's the perfect spot. We were able to stand on the sidewalk right by the entrance, where people driving in could get a nice close look at our signs.

The timing of this event was beautiful. We had just written and prepared our letter to John Ashcroft, calling for an internal review of the Wales investigation and detailing evidence of a cover-up, and the likelihood they killed him themselves. We had copies with us to give them. I thought that making our presence known would be in order, so I went up the elevator and into their party. It was still before 6:30, but there were already lots of people there. Next time we have to show up earlier. I delivered a few copies of the letter to the Ceasefire table, and told them if they'd like to discuss this further that we'd be outside greeting their guests. Then I went back out to where Bob and Jeff were.

The rest of the time we stood by the parking garage entrance giving arrivals a good look at our signs. Bob's said "20 Years Of Lies: Ceasefire $Profits$ From Death." Jeff had one with the picture of the two Nazi soldiers saying, "Only government officers should have guns. They deserve your trust, ja?" Mine said on one side, "Ceasefire nets $500,000 from Tom Wales' murder---Who had the $motive?$" The other side said "If a gun nut killed Tom Wales, why hide the description?" Giving out copies of the letter to people driving in was a little difficult, but we managed one. The signs had just the effect we were looking for, sheer horror. We briefly saw a man and woman who looked like media people pointing a camera at us from a distance, but they didn't come over to talk to us.

I sure wish we could have seen what effect we had on the inside, and if we affected the amount of checks being written. There had to be some people asking what these questions about the Wales killing were about too. Anyhow, it's been a week since then and no news items about the event have appeared like they always do. It's like we tainted their pristine image or something. I also wonder how many people didn't buy tickets because they couldn't publicize their event. Next year we need to have more notice, and someone on the inside, even if it means (gag) donating a hundred bucks. Still, it was a very productive way to spend an hour and a half.

Yours In Liberty,
Kevin